This invention is generally directed to the serving of beverages in a glass or cup, particularly in public eating and/or drinking establishments. More specifically, the beverage serving apparatus of the present invention provides a convenient and sanitary means for attaching accompaniments to various beverages that are contained in a glass or cup. Furthermore, the sanitary beverage serving apparatus of the present invention can provide an effective, yet inexpensive, advertising vehicle.
Many common beverages served today in restaurants, drinking establishments, etc. are typically served with accompaniments that permit the customer to suit the beverage to his/her desired taste. For instance, unsweetened lemonade is typically served with a long spoon for stirring in added sugar to meet desired taste. Iced tea is often served with a special elongated spoon, lemon, and sugar for taste. Many alcoholic beverages are served with stirrers, olives, cherries, etc. for both taste and decorative purpose. Countless beverages requiring common accompaniments exist in both restaurant and home use.
Regrettably, most establishments serve such beverages with the desired accompaniments either immersed in, or floating on, the beverage to be consumed by the customer. For instance, when most restaurants serve iced tea, a slice of lemon is either set floating within the beverage or secured to the rim of the serving glass by means of a partial cut, and the serving spoon is placed in the beverage. In such conventional situations, if the customer determines that the spoon was unsanitary, the beverage should be totally replaced. Furthermore, the end of the spoon extending outwardly from the rim of the glass often causes either the server or customer to spill the beverage, thus requiring both a replacement beverage and a time-consuming clean-up.
There is another technique used by servers at eating and drinking establishments when serving edible accompaniments to a beverage. The edible accompaniment will be speared with a decorative toothpick and either balanced on the rim of a glass or immersed within the beverage. When immersed in the beverage, the result once again is unsanitary if the toothpick was unclean. When balanced on the rim of a glass, the edible accompaniments often fall in the beverage or, worse, fall on the server""s tray. In such instances, the server typically places the edible accompaniments back on the rim of the glass resulting in all the germs that were on the tray being placed in the beverage and/or on the glass. Since servers often place tips, etc. on their serving trays, the result is extremely unsanitary.
While the owners of eating and drinking establishments would desire a more convenient and sanitary means for serving beverages requiring one or more accompaniments, any replacement serving means should be both inexpensive and require the purchase of no additional glassware, cups, etc. Regrettably, no such serving apparatus is available today.
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a new and improved beverage serving apparatus which includes accompaniments.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved beverage serving apparatus which includes accompaniments that is more sanitary than serving devices presently available in the prior art.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved beverage serving apparatus which includes accompaniments that is more convenient and results in less spillage than serving devices presently available in the prior art.
It is yet still a further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved beverage serving apparatus which includes accompaniments that does not result in significantly increased costs.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved beverage serving apparatus which includes accompaniments upon which valuable advertising can be placed.
It is yet an additional object of the present invention to provide a new and improved beverage serving apparatus which includes accompaniments that provides each of the aforementioned advantages without requiring the purchase of any additional glassware, cups, etc.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the specification and the drawings.
Briefly stated and in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a beverage serving apparatus for easily and sanitarily providing accompaniments to a beverage in a container is described. The beverage serving apparatus comprises: (i) a handling portion designed to avoid contact with the beverage; (ii) a container attachment portion for coupling the apparatus to the rim of the container; (iii) a first accompaniment attachment portion shaped to receive a first accompaniment; and (iv) a second accompaniment attachment portion shaped to receive a second accompaniment. Both the first accompaniment attachment portion and the second accompaniment attachment portion can comprise various designs including an elongated slot, a circular slot, a pressure clip, a pointed end (similar to a toothpick), etc. In addition, the container attachment portion of the described beverage serving apparatus can comprise a flexible slot, a pressure clip, or various other designs. The beverage serving apparatus of the present invention can further include advertising materials to provide a novel means of promoting a product or service.